Button Up

It's Friday again so that means I can indulge myself in a bit of crafting as it's my day off, yeah!  What do I do first?  Do I have a play with my Gelli plate or dig out some of those (dare I say it) uninked stamps? Or do I carry on categorising my stamps?  I've bought loads of Really Useful Boxes and they're already half full.  It'd be great to be able to see exactly what I've got and maybe find new homes for those stamps that are no longer used and feel a bit unloved!

It's also challenge day over at Fussy and Fancy where the theme of our new challenge is "BUTTON UP".  I've had this cupcake material laying about for ages and this challenge lent itself to a huge button being placed on top of the cupcake just like a huge cherry.  I think it works quite well!!!!

We'd love to see you playing along with this challenge and the design team have got some great inspiration for you too. Don't forget - button up!!!

Material used:

Papers - First Edition: Spring Feast

Papers - First Edition: Dreamcatcher

Distress ink - shabby shutters

Punch - Martha Stewart: Double Loops

Buttons, lace & card from my stash

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

A Little Bit Crafty - something sweet
In The Pink - flowers
Papercraft Star - photo inspiration
Bearly Mine - anything goes

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Anniversary Rose

Here we are at the beginning of another month and I'm all refreshed after my holiday in Cyprus.  It was great to recharge the batteries and enjoy loads of sunshine and spend some quality time with Mark as well.  Fingers crossed that the good weather continues so that we can tidy up the garden as it'd got a bit out of shape whilst we've been away.

Whilst out there yesterday we had a couple of visitors, the robin was so tame that you had to be careful when moving about so that you didn't stand on it.  The sparrows were tweeting away at us too because they couldn't get to the bird food.

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Anyway back to business and as it's the first of the month we've got another new challenge starting today over at the Clarity Stamp Challenge.  Come and join in with us and you could be in with a chance of winning a £50 Clarity voucher just for playing along and doing what you enjoy!  You know you want to don't you?

What better inspiration could you get than to sit and watch Barbara Gray on the TV today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday).  So tune into Create and Craft on Sky channel 671 between 11.00 and 13.00 today, then 09.00 and 11.00 tomorrow and again between 14.00 and 15.00 for tips, techniques and loads of samples from the design team.

The new challenge, which will run throughout June, is "MR & MRS".  As it's wedding season we've dedicated this challenge to all of those happy couples who will be tying the knot.  We've also expanded it to include wedding anniversaries too so that, even if you're not attending a wedding this year, you can treat your other half to a special card or maybe even your son/son-in-law or daughter/daughter-in-law.

Here's the card that I've made for the challenge which also fitted with a commission that I received from a work colleague for her parents 40th wedding anniversary, but if you want inspiration overload pop over to the challenge blog and see what the talented design team have created too.

a close up of the rose with glossy accents added

to look like dew drops on the petals

Materials used:

Stamp - large rose

coloured with promarkers

accented with glossy accents

Sentiment - rose verse

Stamp - large leafy swirl

Versamark

Perfect pearls - perfect pearl

Stamp - letter box kit

Stamp - number set

Distress ink - worn lipstick

Adirondack - red pepper

Card candi - Saville Row

Pearls

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Whimsy Stamps - anything goes

Creative Inspirations - anything goes

Card Makin Mamas - rubber stamps

Crafts 4 Eternity - 3 x same letter (red, rose romance)

Crafting By Designs - anything goes

Crafting For All Seasons - wedding/anniversary

Creative Moments - lots of layers

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Elizabeth Bennet

Thank crunchie it's Friday and even better than that I'm off on my hollibobs too, yeah!!!!  Watch out Cyprus here we come.  I've just got to finish the packing then it's fun in the sun for the next 10 days.  We can't wait...

Before I go though it's challenge time over at Fussy and Fancy and the theme for this fortnights challenge is "PEARLS AND LACE".  I knew straight away which image I was going to use for this challenge and exactly who was going to receive it too.  It's my Mums birthday just after we get back from Cyprus so this will be just perfect for her and I've been wanting to play with this little beauty every since I bought her at the NEC in March.

Hope you like my inspiration and if you'd like to play along with this challenge there's more inspiration from the talented design team on the blog too.  I look forward to seeing your projects.

Materials used:

Stamp - Elizabeth Bennet

Stamp - birdcage

Border stamp - unknown (sorry)

Water coloured with distress inks:

dried marigold, milled lavender,

bundled sage, squeezed lemonade,

tattered rose & shaded lilac

Promarker - bluebell

Lace from my stash

Pearls

Flowers

Die - flourish leaf strip

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

IndigoBlu - flowers
Papertake Weekly - the sound of music (Pride & Prejudice)

Whimsy Inspires - anything goes
Creatilicious - for the girls
Crafty Ribbons - no designer paper
Milk Coffee Challenge - shabby chic/vintage
Paper Shelter - anything goes

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Moon Fairy

Yeah it's the end of my week and it's a bank holiday too so four days off - whoopee!!!!  I hope the sun stays out the whole time although by saying that I've probably jinxed it now.  What's everyone up to on their long weekend?  Anything exciting?  Me I think I'll just take it as it comes and just enjoy my time off.

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Anyway it's the first of the month and by now you should all know what that means, and if you don't then you just don't know what you're missing!  Do you want to join in the fun too?  Come along to the Clarity Stamp Challenge to see what we get up to, you never know you could win a £50 voucher to spend on Clarity Stamp goodies.  Now where would I start mmm......

We have a new challenge for May with the theme of "IT'S ALL IN THE SENTIMENT".  We all love to make cards don't we, but mainly we focus on the images we use and not the sentiment.  So for this challenge we'd like to see the sentiments made the shining star of your projects (using Clarity stamps of course).

Here's my card for inspiration, but why not pop over to the challenge blog as well to have a look at the projects the Clarity Stamp Challenge design team have created too.  They're stunning!!!

a close up of the sentiment

Materials used:

Stamp - Moon fairy

Coloured with promarkers & flexmarkers

Wings - film & fibre

Moon - mirri card

Adirondack ink - wild plum & denim

Sentiment - silver shoon

Versamark

Black detail embossing powder

Nestability - large deckled rectangle

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Passion for Promarkers - to die for

Joanna Sheen - recycle (take away lid for the mirri card - unused of course)

As You Like It - dies/punches (frames sentiments perfectly)

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

Vintage Wedding Exploding Box

It's time for another challenge over at Fussy and Fancy and the new theme is VINTAGE.  Don't you just love all of the vintage stamps and digi's out at the moment?  This was a relatively new style to me when I made it, and I hadn't got any stamps, so I went with papers, dies, ribbon and distressing instead.

I made this for a friends wedding and they had a vintage theme to their day so this fitted in quite well.  I do like to match my cards to the event, don't you?  I did personalise it a bit more than in the pictures below but obviously just wanted to show the basic project.

If you'd like to make an exploding box, I have a tutorial here with pictorial and written instructions.  I'd love to get your feedback and see your finished projects.

Materials used:

Pearlised card - vanilla ice shimmer

Nestability - labels eighteen

Distress ink - vintage photo

Martha Stewart edge punch - doily lace

Magnolia Doohickey die - bloomy tag

Sentiment - together forever

Ribbon & Pearls

I'd like to enter my project into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - one paper taker
Creative Inspirations - anything but a card
Dutch Dare - anything but a card
Sassy Studio Designs - fancy folds
Inky Impressions - die cuts/punches - TOP 3
A Little Bit Crafty - anything goes

By the Cute & Girly - vintage

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx

In the Garden

Good morning crafters, I hope you're all enjoying your long weekend.  Hope you all got loads of Easter eggs?  Mark took me out for a meal last night instead of buying me an Easter egg, you can't argue with that can you?

It's the first of the month so that means only one thing!  It's time for a new challenge over at the Clarity Stamp Challenge.  The theme for our second challenge is "IN THE GARDEN" which is where I know a lot of us wish we could be.  I keep looking out of the window at our garden thinking it needs a good old tidy up but then it starts snowing and I think better of it.  Oh well one day soon hopefully!

Anyway back to the challenge and here's my inspirational card for the challenge to get your creativity going and if this isn't enough the rest of the design team have loads more ideas for you too.  You could be in with a chance of winning a £50 Clarity Stamp gift voucher.  It's a pity I can't enter myself!!

I love creating scenes with my stamps and the sets are ideal for these types of cards

Materials used:

Stamp - garden set

Stamp - cherry blossom

Stamp - small birds in flight

Stamp - wrought iron chair

Stamp - small tree silhouette

Stamp - haberdashery set

Adirondack ink - lettuce, stonewashed, sunshine yellow

Liquid pearls - pastel raspberry

Glossy accents

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

I love Promarkers - spring is in the air

Stamping Sensations - great outdoors

xx Happy crafting and glittery hugs xx